Hunter1

Hunters
Todd W. Smith / EditorinChiefOutdoor Life
11-01-2005
The Bear Truth When are wildlife officials going to listen to their own biologists
Byline: Todd W. Smith! EditorinChief
Volume: Vol. 212, Issue: 10
Column: Editor’s Journal
Type: Column
A recent op-ed piece in The Wall Street Journal caught my eye. It spoke about the ridiculousness of not allowing a state-sanctioned hunt to deal with the ongoing problem of exploding black bear numbers in New Jersey.
This is not a new story. In fact, we reported on the problem months ago [ Shots, March]. As you might recall, the New Jersey Fish and Game Council, which sets hunting and fishing seasons, had voted 10-1 to allow a December 2004 black bear hunt to take place. Despite protests by environmentalists and animal-rights activists, the Fish and Game Council had concluded that a hunt was the only viable method of dealing with the overpopulation of bears.
New Jersey environmental commissioner Bradley Campbell stepped in and put the kibosh on the hunt at the 11th hour, however, arguing that the state should institute a contraception and public- awareness program, seemingly ignoring the fact that such programs are more expensive and virtually ineffective.
Since that time, bear numbers have continued to climb (the Journal article places the population at some 3,400 bears) and black bears have now been spotted in all 21 counties in the Garden State. But there’s more. According to the Journal, “In the first half of this year alone, the state logged 677 damage and nuisance complaints, up from 424 in the same period last year. Bears have attacked dogs, swatted toddlers and broken into homes.”
Now the Fish and Game Council is back, having recently voted unanimously to hold another black bear hunt in December. So Campbell must once again choose between listening to animal-rights groups and listening to his own fish and game experts, who clearly believe that the best solution is to allow the bears to be hunted. It will be interesting to see which way Campbell leans come December, but thorny issues like the bear-hunting quagmire in New Jersey are merely symptoms of an even larger problem nationwide, that being the sway that environmentalists and animal-rights groups hold over those who are in a position to control hunting.
Whether it’s black bears in New Jersey, grizzlies in Wyoming and Montana or mountain lions in California, it’s time for officials to stop bowing to the whims of animal-rights activists and start worrying about the people who live in their states and the game that resides there.
More Tips
Four great pieces of advice from this issue
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1 - Breaking In Barrels A normal sight-in session is generally all that’s needed to break in a new rifle. Page 23
2 - Get Aggressive Don’t hold back when rattling. Smash the horns hard, then watch for bucks downwind. Page 42
3 - Wear What Wicks When choosing socks to wear in hunting boots, avoid cotton, which absorbs moisture. Page 66
4 - Tracking Dogs A GPS can be used to determine how far your dog ranges and how often he checks in. Page 84
Illustrations/Photos:
COLOR PHOTO: BEAR: BILL LEA Black bear hunting needs to be
reinstated in New Jersey, where bear numbers have exploded. FOUR
COLOR PHOTOS
material may be duplicated or redisseminated without permission.)
Citation for your reference:
Todd W. Smith / EditorinChief. “The Sear Truth When are wildlife officials going to listen to their own biologists?.” Outdoor Life. 01 Nov. 2005: 7. eLibraay. Web. 24 May. 2010.
Todd W. Smith! EditorinChief. “The Bear Truth When are wildlife officials going to listen to their own biologists?.” Outdoor Life. 01 Nov. 2005: 7.
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Pennsylvania, Jersey differ drastically when it comes to bears
Chri Bern Of The Morning Call. Morning Call Allentown, Pa.:
Dec 6, 2005 pg. C.9
Full Text (908 words)
Cop yright Morning Call Dec 6, 2005
Pennsylvania and New Jersey may be neighbors on the map, but it’s hard to imagine the two states being farther apart when it comes to black bear management.
The stark contrast has been particularly evident in recent weeks. On the Pennsylvania side of the Delaware River, hunters set a harvest record by taking an amazing 4,123 bears during the Nov. 21-23 statewide season and the extended season held Nov. 28-Dec. 3 in selected Wildlife Management Units.
On the New Jersey side, sportsmen had to fight just to have a bear hunt. The season opened Monday, but only after the state Supreme Court refused a last-minute request from animal rights groups to block the hunt, At least 54 bears were taken on opening day.
In Pennsylvania, bear hunting is an accepted part of life and the No.
1 tool used by the state Game Commission to control the bear
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population. Annual bear hunts have been held in 86 of the past 90
years with little controversy.
From 2000-2004, Pennsylvania hunters killed an average of nearly 3,000 bears a year. Despite that, the commission said the overall population remained relatively steady at between 14,000 and 15,000 animals.
This year’s harvest shattered the old record by more than 1000
bears and surprised even commission officials.
“This harvest greatly exceeded our expectations, but is a testament to the size, reproductive success and range our of bear population,” said Cal DuBrock, director of the commission’s Bureau of Wildlife Management.
In other words, even though hunters shoot thousands of bears, there are still plenty of them running around in the woods. Inevitably, some of those bears get into trouble, and the commission fields hundreds of complaints about bears destroying crops, killing livestock, raiding garbage cans, tearing down bird feeders, harassing campers and other problems.
Just imagine how many more bears--and how many more bear
problems — there would be if an annual hunt wasn’t held.
Which brings us to New Jersey, which is now in the midst of just its second bear hunt in the past 35 years. State wildlife officials decided to hold the hunt as a way to curb the number of problems caused by the bears, believed to number between 1,600 and 3,200.
The hunt is part of the state’s newly adopted bear management plan, which also includes public education efforts on how to co- exist with bears and an investigation into non-lethal control options such as contraception.
I’m all for common-sense measures such as keeping garbage indoors and removing bird feeders that attract bears. But those measures will meet with limited success if the bear population is simply allowed to keep growing.
As for the idea of bear contraception, I have to objection to it in theory. The devil, of course, is in the details. First of all, no drug has been proven effective for this purpose. And even if there was such a drug, it would have to be repeatedly administered to virtually every fertile female in the population.
I doubt it would be possible to even find all those bears, much less drug them. And even if it could be done, it would cost taxpayers millions.
A controlled hunt, on the other hand, actually provides revenue for wildlife management efforts by requiring sportsmen to purchase bear- hunting licenses.
The choice -- at least for those of us who don’t consider bear hunting
attempted murder-- is a no-brainer.
During New Jersey’s last bear hunt, in 2003, hunters killed 328 bears and bear-related complaints dropped sharply the following year. But, so far this year, bears have been considered safety risks or damaged property nearly 1,000 times--almost 25 percent more incidents than all of last year.
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Numerous close encounters between bears and people have been documented, and officials say the hunt is needed to address a growing threat to public safety in the nations most densely- populated state.
Despite that, New Jersey bear hunters were met by protestors Monday, and some hunting opponents said they even planned to form “bear rescue teams” and head into the woods to tend wounded bears. For their sake, I hope none of them got the opportunity to find out what its like to administer first aid to an angry, 400-pound bruin.
A prime example of the distorted view held by many bear-hunting opponents was provided by Ken Vassilatos, a 47-year-old Pine Bush, N.Y., man who protested Monday at Wawayanda State Park.
“It’s a slaughter of innocent black bears,” said Vassilatos, who wore a T-shirt emblazoned with the image of a cub and a female bear, both with tears in their eyes.
I can’t remember the last time I saw a bear cry. What’s more, bears are neither innocent nor guilty. Those are human value judgments that have no place in the bear’s world.
Bears simply do what bears do. If they are tired, they sleep. If they are hungry, they eat. And it makes not one whit of difference to a bear if his next snack comes from a pile of acorns in the woods, your garbage can or a farmer’s chicken coop.
Bear hunting isn’t about passing judgment on the animals, or separating good bears from evil. It’s about maintaining a wild resource at a level modern society can accept.
As in the past, future decisions about controlling bear numbers - - on both sides of the Pennsylvania/New Jersey border--ought to be based on science, not sentiment.
Indexing (document details)
Author(s): Christian Berg Of The Morning Call
Document types: OUTDOORS
Section: SPORTS
Publication title: Morning Call Allentown, Pa.: Dec 6,2005 pg. C.9
Source type: Newspaper
ISSN: 08845557
ProQuest document ID: 937765581
Text Word Count 908
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